MESSENGERS 2: THE SCARECROW (2009) Review By Matt Compton

Director: Martin Barnewitz

Writer: Todd Farmer

Starring: Norman Reedus, Claire Holt, Richard Riehle, Heather Stephens

SYNOPSIS

A struggling farmer is at breaking point until he finds an old scarecrow which seems to turn his luck around but as people start dying he realises that his good luck charm might not be so benevolent...

Despite being critically ignored and not really making much of an impression on anybody really, the 2007 film, Messengers has now been given a direct to DVD sequel - Messengers 2: The Scarecrow.

Although it is definitely direct to DVD material the film has surprisingly good production values for a feature of its modest budget. It is shot well and boasts some attractive lighting effects as well as a possessing a overall sheen of quality. There are no big name actors here but the cast led by Norman Reedus are solid and convincing throughout. Richard Riehle, who you may have seen meet a particularly messy end in Adam Green's Hatchet makes the most out of his supporting role as the mysterious neighbour who may not be quite what he seems.

The story concerns John Rollins (Reedus), a down on his luck farmer who discovers a weird old scarecrow in a secret compartment of his barn. Upon erecting his new buddy he finds that his luck changes, his crops prosper and his enemies start to die. As the scarecrow's influence tightens on Rollins he suffers strange and confusing visions and is slowly pushed to madness and violence.

This part of the story takes up the main running time of the movie and while it is something of a slow burn works moderately well. There are a few creepy scenes here and there and we are genuinely intrigued as to just what is happening here. There are shades of The Shining or The Amityville Horror at play and from the quotes on the front of the DVD case it would seem that the producers want to emphasise this as much as they possibly can.

The truth is however that it just doesn't push it far enough. We never get the impression that Rollins is anywhere near melting point and he just comes across as moody rather than dangerously unhinged. It is not surprising that he would be moody too seeing as the script lumers him with the most henpecking nag of a wife ever seen on film. This wouldn't be such a problem if she wasn't supposed to be the sympathetic character we are expected to root for but when the majority of her screen time is taken up with her berating her justifiably troubled husband for such heinous cries as leaving church early, swearing or drinking you just end up wanting him to snap and chop her up with a sickle or something.

The real trouble with Messengers 2: The Scarecrow however comes in the form of its title character. The scarecrow in question spends nearly the entire film's running time as a dark and mysterious force. People who cross it all seem to end up dead in mysterious circumstances. The scarecrow itself however is always unmoving implaccably standing in the corn while its malevolent influence exerts itself upon all around it. That's all well and good until the final act where everything built up previously goes out of the window and the film becomes just another generic supernatural slasher movie.

The fact that the film is so uneven certainly smacks of studio interference but as to what the truth is it is impossible to say. As it stands however, the differences between the first two thirds of the movie and its final act are cataclysmically huge.

It is simply a let-down to what could have been a much more interesting and understated movie. This really sums up all of the film's failings, it just never quite lives up to its potential. Much more could have been made of everything, the landscape, the actors, the mood, all of it should have been just that little bit sharper.